


Tension

by Sarcastic_Soulmate



Series: Season 3 Episodes [3]
Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Angst, Domestic Disputes, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fights, First Kiss, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27389479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcastic_Soulmate/pseuds/Sarcastic_Soulmate
Summary: "Of all the things Ben imagined going down on this trip, getting a headache from excessive banjo music wasn't one of them."Or everyone's feelings during Road Trip. (S03E14)
Relationships: Andy Dwyer/April Ludgate, Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Series: Season 3 Episodes [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927507
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys, I wrote this entire first chapter during school because I had a shit ton of free time and I was bored. Hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie and Ben. Pining. Annoyance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meow

How ironic that Ann told her to avoid one-on-one tension-y situations with him, and then Chris sends them on a trip. 

It's just Leslie's dumb luck, that's all. Because, yay, they get to be alone together, but that's also not good for her self-control. 

She's this close to grabbing Ben by his stupidly adorable brown hair and kissing him hard. And it scared her to have such intense feelings for someone that's forbidden, so Leslie had to find any possible way to avoid the torture. Being in such close physical proximity with him, ALONE, is not going to help matters any.

At this point, Chris is just playing with them. He has to know something. Either that, or he's the world's most oblivious boss. 

Leslie isn't sure which one she prefers. 

She feels like a rubber band that's so close to snapping, one that'll inevitably break no matter how careful she is. 

It makes her wonder why she's even trying anymore. 

//

Ben had to admit, he felt a rush of excitement when Chris gave them the news, but immediately chastised himself for it. 

Nothing can happen. 

But that doesn't mean he can't think about it, he supposes. 

Why is this so hard? They haven't even kissed before, he should not be feeling such strong feelings for his employee, no matter how passionate and attractive she is. 

The Human Disaster part of Ben tries to force him back into this hole full of uncertainty, trying to make him doubt the fact that his feelings don't seem so one-sided anymore. 

He catches her lingering looks often, the ones where her eyes widen when she realizes he caught her staring, and she blushes while turning away from him in embarrassment. 

Then there's the opposite where she catches him staring, but that's not important. 

// 

It shouldn't be this comfortable. But it was. Until it wasn't. 

They were doing fine until they started talking about towels and he got close to her to move the eyelash. 

And that sneaky Ann putting a love song on the CD... 

Then the song ended, Leslie snapped out of her trance, and every bad thing that could ever possibly happen flashed through her mind, forcing her to push him away and put her walls back up. 

The look on his face when she did broke her heart, but that was the best she could do.

She has to keep her guard up. It's the only way to survive.

Sure, the rest of the ride to Indianapolis was awkward, but a little awkwardness can go a long way when it comes to saving their souls.

It's the only way. 

// 

He didn't know what he was thinking. All he knew is that that song combined with the hold Leslie always has over him sent him spiraling into a long line of bad decision-making. 

He got close to her, and she pulled away. Plus, what was going on with this weird music? It's like she was trying to make this as unpleasant as possible.

Oh. That's what Leslie's trying to do, diffuse the tension. He should've known; Leslie Knope doesn't act erratically without a helpfully intricate plan in mind. 

Couldn't she have picked something less irritating than this?

Of all the things Ben imagined going down on this trip, getting a headache from excessive banjo music wasn't one of them. 

//

Leslie's earlier reserve has long since faded, and she gave in to having a pleasant vacation- er, work trip with Ben. 

They were laughing about yet another thing at dinner, Leslie slightly intoxicated from the red wine to the extent where she almost forgot what was at risk. 

Almost. 

"You were really great in the presentation today." 

"Oh, thanks."

"I liked the stuff you said about Pawnee; that was really nice to hear." 

Ben smiles at her. "Pawnee is a really special town; I- I love living there." He pauses for a moment, filtering his words through a restrictive machine, the same one she's been using around him since the second she found out about that stupid rule. 

"And, um... and I look forward to the moments in my day where I- where I get to hang out with the town... and talk to the town, about stuff." 

She smiles at that, starting to understand his point. 

"And the town has really nice blonde hair too, and has read a shocking number of political biographies for a town, which I like." 

"Oh, God." Leslie groans. 

"I'm sorry, and I know we can get into trouble, but I- I can't take this anymore, and I feel like we need to at least talk about it. I mean, it's not just me, r-right?" 

Leslie could almost laugh at the question, but she catches the nervous stutter over the word "right" and stifles it. Instead, she answers wholeheartedly, "No, it's not just you." 

And they both smile. 

// 

Ben's perplexed at the way Leslie runs off to "the bathroom." Yeah, she's definitely on the phone with Ann, not to mention he thinks he just caught a glimpse of her pacing while yelling into her phone. 

His nerves skyrocket as he wonders what Leslie will say when she comes back. Will they talk about this... thing between them, and will he get to kiss her? He tries not to think about that last question, but, as he's come to realize in the many months he's known Leslie, this crush has a mind of its own. 

Then Chris shows up, and all his fantasies go down the toilet. 

"Ben Wyatt!" Chris cheers, and he fights the urge to rub his temples in annoyance. 

"Hey, Chris." He tries to say casually, but (obviously) fails. "Wha-what are you, uh, doing here?" Go figure, he thinks; he can't even get a sentence out coherently.

"I just HAD to come here and celebrate you guys' achievement. You've confirmed my suspicion. There's LITERALLY nothing my dynamic duo cannot do."

Except have a moment alone, apparently. 

// 

Any romantic tension that tries to develop gets immediately vanquished by Chris adding interesting tidbits to their conversation about how small his bladder is and how to achieve urethral health.

All were things that neither of them could care less about while they're staring at each other.

Leslie realizes at some point that they'll never get to have the conversation they need to have on Chris' couch while he annoyingly gets up to pee every two damn seconds and gets up to go to bed. 

She has to pass by Ben to leave the living room, and the space between him and the table is not very large, so that's wonderful, she decides, trying to pass through him as professionally as possible... if that's even a thing. She doesn't know anymore. 

All she knows is that this day has been long. Way too long, but only at the excruciatingly awkward and painful moments. 

The ones that there seem to be way too much of lately. 

//

Ben stops in front of the doorway as he notices Leslie inside. He wasn't trying to trap her necessarily but she looks happy to see him anyway. 

"Oh hey!" She says cheerfully, the awkwardness from the night before already gone. There's a slight dim in her usual wholesomely bright eyes as if she's accepted their fate of never getting to sort this thing out. 

The same fate he was mulling over not 10 minutes ago, convincing himself that pursuing his feelings wasn't worth the risk. 

"Hey." 

"Chris just wanted me to drop off these receipts." 

"Oh, well, he's not here he... took off." 

"Okay," Leslie replies, handing the receipts to him. 

He grabs them, and something inside him snaps, throwing caution to the wind, causing him to grab her face with one hand, the other on her back, while he kisses her assertively. And it's wonderful. It's as if he's been asleep his whole life and he's finally being awakened from his slumber. 

She returns it, with vigor, and Ben pulls back, looking into her eyes for her consent. 

She stands up on her tiptoes to kiss him again, and it's all the consent he needs.


	2. Supportive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April-centric chapter with some Andy moments. 
> 
> They fought. They aren't speaking. Maybe April spirals a little bit, and maybe she isn't totally in the right...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Dumb_Trash_Monster for beta reading!

Being part of Tom's new game was lame, April already knew that.

Tom's the only semi-cool one, and he's pretty weird. 

But then again, it is the Newlywed Game after all, and well, what is she? A newlywed. Perfect timing. 

Then something weird happens. She and Andy start bickering, then they stop talking altogether. 

Andy storms off for the first time in their (not very long) relationship. Not wanting to look like the abandoned one, she stormed off in her own direction. 

April sits on the couch at home, hugging her knees to her chest. She keeps checking her phone every 30 seconds, but Andy hasn't texted or called. Normally she'd be upset about that, but she can't be. 

She hasn't reached out either. 

And she doesn't want to. April doesn't do emotions, but maybe she was supposed to? At least with him... he is her husband after all.

Maybe Leslie was right about her concern for a wedding after a month-long relationship; they didn't have that time to get to know each other, find out each other's deal-breakers, and get used to things before jumping into marriage. 

And she did say that one time that everyone in the Parks Department was bad at love. 

Leslie's right about a lot of things, but April would never tell her that. 

She'd do it all again in a heartbeat, but she can't help but start to agree a little bit with Leslie.

What she doesn't understand is why he's being so stubborn. His band isn't even real, and why should she have to pay attention to his if he can't even remember hers? 

It's so unfair. 

// 

Andy sits in a bar, not to drink, but to gather some thoughts. 

He may not have them often, but he is allowed to have them... isn't he? 

He can't believe this. How can she not love Mouse Rat? That's his band, his blood, sweat, and tears, his entire life! He doesn't have any particular deal-breakers, but his wife not loving Mouse Rat is definitely a big deal.

// 

"Tom, I need your help." 

"What's up, boo-boo?" 

"Ew. No. Stop." She rolls her eyes and huffs at him. "Andy's mad at me and it's all your fault." 

"Me?"

"No, the dumbass behind you," April deadpans. Tom glances behind him and she facepalms. "You are useless!" She yells. 

"Okay fine, I'll help! What do you want me to do?" 

"I don't know. He got mad because he doesn't think I like Mouse Rat." 

Tom pauses, then lights up with an idea. "I got it. Serenade him naked." 

"No." 

"Understandable. Okay, what if we did a bonus round?" 

April taps her chin. "What do you mean?" 

"Well, what does he love other than Mouse Rat?" 

April shrugs. "Making mac and cheese?" 

"I think that can work. We're gonna have to lay this on really thick." 

// 

Andy storms out the same way he did earlier. 

His own wife went behind his back with Tom and tried to trick him into forgiving her. 

He doesn't know what to do anymore. 

// 

April slaps Tom on the shoulder, looking for someone to blame.

"Don't do that! This suit is expensive!" Tom whines. 

"You said it would work!" She yells in frustration. 

"You're the one who agreed to trick your husband!" 

"Shut up." She leaves the room.

To be fair, he was kind of right. 

But come on, this was getting childish. She let Andy know she wanted him to forgive her, and that somehow made him not want to do it? What was that about? 

He's being so annoying about it. He's not understanding her side. 

A chilling thought makes shivers run down her spine. 

What if he never forgives her? 

What if this is the end? 

It can't be… it's only the beginning! 

At this rate, though, things aren't going to get any better. She doesn't even know where he is, so she can't talk to him. 

She sits on a bench outside to think.

What's going to happen? 

For the first time in a long time, she's scared, and she doesn't like it. 

//

There's got to be someone that can help. Granted, human interaction is overrated and unnecessary, but April doesn't want to lose her husband. 

The only other people she knows who are in happy relationships are her parents and Jerry, and she'd rather drown herself than go to them with her problems. 

So it's official. She's stuck. 

She's banging her head against the wall in annoyance when she gets an idea. 

Ann. Ann can help. 

After all, she did date him. 

She cringes at the thought, but knows she has to do this. All great things in life are risky. 

That's where the fun is, even though talking to her husband's ex and someone she hates (for other reasons, really) doesn't sound entirely riveting.

… 

April sits on Ann's couch, avoiding eye contact.

"What happened?" 

"He doesn't think I like Mouse Rat! And all I said was that this other band was better, and I don't get why he got so mad, 'cause it's like an indisputable fact that they're better, they're a real band-"

Then Ann interrupts her and starts giving her advice. Gross. Well, she did ask, but still.... 

"This isn't really about being right, it's more about being supportive." 

Supportive. Okay, she can do that. Maybe. 

// 

"I got the greatest wife in the world!" 

"Stop!"

"We're married! And we're totally gonna do it later!" 

"God!" April runs away, amused and embarrassed at the same time. 

They made up; she stole his guitar back from that perv, and now he's bragging about their sex life. 

She's being pretty supportive, if she does say so herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kind of killed me, so hopefully you enjoyed it a little.


End file.
